Chevron Refinery Fire Threatens to Increase California Gas Prices
A fire at the Chevron El Segundo Refinery near Los Angeles is highly likely to drive up gas prices across California, and potentially further west, in the coming days. Firefighters continued extinguishing the blaze Friday morning after it broke out Thursday night at the refinery, one of the largest on the West Coast. No injuries have been reported, and authorities are still investigating the cause.
The refinery typically processes around 300,000 barrels of crude oil daily, supplying approximately one-fifth of Southern California’s motor vehicle fuel and 40% of its jet fuel, according to petroleum analyst Matt McClain of GasBuddy. “This is going to problably have a pretty notable impact at the pump,” McClain stated.
mcclain anticipates a potential price increase of 35 to 95 cents per gallon for West Coast motorists, potentially extending into western canada. The timing of the increase will depend on consumer demand; a rush to the pumps could accelerate the price hike. “If everybody kind of goes toward the pumps all at once, well then you’ve got a little bit of an increase in price coming sooner rather than later,” he explained. “But if nobody panics, you’re still only talking a matter of several days before you will start to see the price increase across portions of California, and really beyond.”
As of Friday, California’s average gas price was $4.64 per gallon, according to GasBuddy and AAA.
While existing oil imports in storage may offer some buffer, UC Berkeley energy economist Severin Borenstein cautioned that accessing those reserves could take time. he added, ”Unluckily, this comes at a very difficult time when refineries are scheduling maintenance, so ther is highly likely to be a larger price spike for a given reduction in capacity.”
The fire adds further strain to California’s already limited refining capacity. phillips 66 announced in 2024 its plans to close its Los Angeles facilities by year’s end, and Valero informed California regulators in April of its intention to potentially idle, restructure, or cease operations at its Benicia Refinery by the end of April 2026.
